Association of Physical Performance and Pain With Fear of Falling Among Community—Dwelling Japanese Women Aged 65 Years and Older

Abstract

Our aim was to explore the association of physical performance and pain with fear of falling among community-dwelling Japanese women.The subjects were 278 women aged 65 years and over. We collected information on fear of falling, painful joints, comorbidities, falls in the previous year, and cataracts. Walking time (distance of 6 m), chair stand time (5 times), grip strength, the timed up and go test (TUG), and functional reach were measured.The prevalence of fear of falling was 36.3%, and it increased with age, but it was not significant (P = 0.081). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that poor physical performance (longer walking time, longer chair stand time, weaker grip strength, and longer TUG) and pain (low back, and upper and lower extremity pain) were significantly associated with fear of falling after adjusting for age, body mass index, comorbidities, falls in the previous year, and cataracts.Maintaining physical functioning and managing pain may be important for elderly women with fear of falling.

<b>Balance in seniors who exercise, considering different levels of fear of falling

“…Although no statistical difference was found for FR in the study above presented (Tomita et al, 2015), results of this test in the present study also proved different between individuals from G1 and G3. In the same way, Lopes et al, (2009) found in their results correlation between fear of falling and the FR test, justified by inability or incapacity to perform this test, suggested by the presence of balance deficit, which may be linked to fear of falling.…”

“…As a result, they found that TUG and SR5 showed different values between groups, corroborating with findings of the present study, which also found difference between individuals who were more and less afraid of falling. However, in the study by Tomita et al (2015), the Functional Reach test (FR) showed no statistical difference between groups.…”

“…Corroborating, in a review study, Kumar et al (2014) identified that the fact that the individual is capable of rising from a chair indicates less fear of falling. In a study conducted by Tomita et al (2015), similar to the present study, the authors sought to investigate whether results in different physical performance tests was different between individuals who were and were not afraid of falling. As a result, they found that TUG and SR5 showed different values between groups, corroborating with findings of the present study, which also found difference between individuals who were more and less afraid of falling.…”

Mobility and Fall Behavioral in Elderly: A Study of Nursing Home

“…Yapılan çalışmalarda yaşlılarda düşme korkusu prevalansının %20-85 arasında değiştiği bildirilmektedir. (23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28) Prevalanstaki bu farklılıkların düşme korkusu ölçüm yöntem-lerinden, düşme korkusunun tanımından, araştırılan toplumun özelliklerinden, yaş ve cinsiyet farklılıklarından kaynaklandığı düşünülebilir. Bizim çalışma sonucumuz da bahsedilen araştır-ma sonuçları ile benzerlik göstermekte olup, yaşlılarda düşme ve düşme korkusunun yaygın bir sorun olduğunu desteklemektedir.…”

Effect of Pilates Exercise on Fear of Falling in Iranian Elderly Women

“…Furthermore, its prevalence among the elderly population is substantially high. Many studies have reported that an average of 21-85% of the elderly population has FOF [5][6][7][8]. The various risk factors that have been identified to be associated with FOF are previous history of falling, impaired gait, imbalance, unsteadiness, muscle weakness and limitation of daily tasks [9,10].…”